On Tuesday, March 20, the Turf Committee met to review products, equipment, and services from leading synthetic turf system distributors. The Turf Committee consists of facilities and athletic departments staff, parents, community members, and engineers from our architect firm, Clark, Patterson, and Lee. This committee was formed after a group of parents expressed an interest in providing input on our athletic facilities upgrades (on a side note – we very much appreciate whenever our families get involved in making our schools great places for students). The turf field replacement was approved by the voters in May 2017 and we are well underway towards making this project a reality for this summer’s capital project work. The Turf Committee will ensure that the prospective vendors provide us with a product that meets strict health and safety requirements for our students, staff, and community members who use our facilities.
While the turf field replacement will kick-off our summer capital project work, there are several other projects that are in development that have already received approval and funding from our voters. These projects include bleacher replacement and the wrestling room renovation at the Tappan Zee High School Gym, electrical upgrades at William O. Schaefer Elementary School, and the renovation of our technology classrooms and auditorium at South Orangetown Middle School. We also anticipate creating additional classroom space this summer at Cottage Lane Elementary School to be used as a Library/Media Center.
Concurrently, we are in the planning stages of developing capital projects to be constructed in the summers of 2019 and 2020. These projects have been authorized by the voters and will be funded by existing capital project reserves and include:
- TZHS: Turf field (to begin Summer 2018 – mentioned above), stadium seats, and press box renovations
- SOMS: Library and art room renovations and installation of air conditioning in the auditorium
- CLE: Modular library installation (to begin Summer 2018 – mentioned above)
- WOS: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance improvements in the gym and cafeterias
- Districtwide – Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance improvements in restrooms and removal of underground fuel storage tanks at various campus locations
We are grateful for all the support that our community has given the school district towards the preservation of these publicly-owned assets. Our facilities belong to the people of this community and we appreciate the input and guidance that our voters provide as part of the budgeting process. For example, we have identified high priority projects that will be addressed as part of the 2018-19 draft spending plan. These projects include renovations at Tappan Zee High School of cafeteria/kitchen spaces and locker rooms. Beyond this, we seek to make our classroom spaces safe and healthy places for students to grow and learn. Our Facilities Committee will continue to identify future needs and funding sources and make recommendations to the administration and our board of education. Thank you again for your support of these projects and commitment to our students.